Russell Anderson claims everyone at Aberdeen is puzzled by the injury problems which have beset their season.

Craig Brown's squad has been weakened for large parts of the campaign, considerably on occasions, with the most recent casualty being defender Andrew Considine who broke his leg in the 3-1 Clydesdale Bank Premier League win at Dundee at the weekend.

Anderson told RedTV: "The one thing that has been the same as last season has been the injuries. No one can really understand why."

The Pittodrie men went into the winter break in fifth place following their 2-2 home draw with Dundee United on Wednesday.

Anderson added: "The start to the season was good in a way as we were playing well although we were not getting the points we deserved.

"That gave everyone a little bit of confidence, I know the supporters were encouraged by the way we were playing and there was a really good feeling about the club.

"More recently the results have not gone as well as we would have liked, and a lot can be put down to the injury situation, which has been terrible.

"Some people will say that that it is just an excuse but it is a fact we have had on average five or six players that would be in the first team out with injury.

"That has affected the results recently.

"All we can do now is concentrate on getting everyone 100% fit over the next couple of weeks. We also need to remember there are something like another 16 league games after the break which gives us plenty of time to have a good stab at finishing the season strongly."